Choice in Welfare S.

1 primary work

Unequal But Fair?

by Peter Saunders

Published May 2000

There is a widespread belief that British society is unfair - that middle-class children enjoy an inside track to occupational success while working-class children face insurmountable obstacles placed in their path by the British class system. Drawing on the authoritative new evidence, Professor Peter Saunders demonstrates that Britain is much more open than most people have realised. He rebuts the false claims of those academics, politicians and educationalists who contend that 'life chances' are determined by social background. By far the most important predictors of success or failure in Britain are academic ability and personal ambition. His evidence shows that, if you are bright and you work hard, you will almost certainly succeed, irrespective of where you start out from. This evidence has huge implications. For too long, many of our young people have been encouraged to believe that the dice are loaded against them, and this might help to explain the widespread disaffection which has settled upon so much of the nation's youth. The message from this book is, by contrast, optimistic: 'The game is worth playing, even for those born into the poorest social conditions.
The mountaintops are within reach. All that is needed is the ability and the will to start climbing.' "Peter Saunders' research deserves serious attention..." The Independent. "Unequal But Fair ...rebuts the orthodox view that working-class children face insurmountable obstacles placed in their path by the British class system, while the middle classes enjoy a permanent inside track to career success." The Sunday Times.